Ribbons
by The Druid Is In
Summary: It's Daenerys' wedding day. She is not the only bride. Indulgent WLW Drabble. WLW Daenerys. Complete.


She looked gorgeous as she glided through the doors of the temple: ethereal, elegant, almost unreal. Daenerys was wearing a flaming red dress with glimmering bits of gold and pearls sewn into it. Someone—probably Missandei—has woven red flowers into her pale hair. Red dye has been used to paint temporary designs onto her pale skin, winding around her thin wrists and up her arms past her elbows, following the local traditions. Missandei, who no doubt helped with that, too, is beaming as she walks behind Daenerys, holding up the hem of her long wedding gown.

_Fire and blood_, Yolotli whispers to herself as she reverently watches her soon-to-be wife approach. She is wearing a soft gold color like the setting sun. Her mahogany skin looks radiant in it, as beautiful and offset as the ash parlor of Daenerys against the crimson fabric. They are milk and honey, light and dark. She is still so tall and angular, still thin as a rail, still Targaryen blonde the way Yolotli is not, the way Yolotli is still soft and petite, still curvy, still crowned with inky black hair like a crow.

Violet eyes in a face showing more nerves than usual, the tilt of her head still proud, Daenerys walks until she can stand beside Yolotli. Four people, each holding the corner of a finely woven cloth, hold it up over them. Missandei gently releases Daenerys' hem to take a set of colorful ribbons and cords off of an attendant. Yolotli swallows as the moment she had waited so desperately for arrives. She holds her hands out, clasping Daenerys' now outstretched hands. Missandei begins wrapping the ribbons around their joined hands with the help of Grey Worm.

"We witness the joining of these two souls, together as one, for now and always," she says. She smiles at her friend and Queen, and at her now just-as-loved friend Yolotli, who would care for her Queen's heart.

Yolotli's soft voice rang out next, leading the vows. Daenerys, despite her obvious nervousness, spoke calmly and firmly in response to each charge, sounding as commanding as she always did.

"You cannot possess me, for I belong to myself, But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give."

"I cannot possess you, for you belong to yourself. While we both wish it, I accept all that which is yours to give."

"You cannot command me, for I am a free person, But I shall serve you in those ways you require. And the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand."

"I cannot command you, for you are a free person, But you shall receive love and support with an open heart and open arms. All life will taste sweeter coming from your hand."

"I pledge to you that yours will be the name I cry aloud in the night. And the eyes into which I smile in the morning. I pledge to you the first bite from my meat, And the first drink from my cup.I pledge to you my living and dying, equally in your care, And tell no strangers our grievances."

"I pledge to you that I will return the same, and be vigilant to your needs. I pledge to you that you shall never hunger nor thirst at my expense. My House is your House. My people are your people. I will work toward your heart's desire as if it were my own, and I will vanquish your worries, for they are mine."

"This is my wedding vow to you. This is a marriage of equals."

"I accept your vows. I receive you as an equal."

They switched roles, with Daenerys charging Yolotli and Yolotli responding. Once they reached the end again, they shared a kiss. By that point, Missandei and Grey Worm had finished covering their hands. They tied them all into a loose knot that would slip over their clasped hands without coming undone.

Grey Worm spoke. "What was two is now one, bound together by choice and not by force." He turned to them and bowed. "Long live The Mother of Dragons! Long may she reign, and long may her marriage prosper!"

The gathered crowd echoed his words. A chant of "Long live the Queens" started up, just as the cloth was laid around their shoulders. Missandei slipped the knotted ribbons and cords off and offered the bundle to Daenerys, who took it and stared at it, looking a bit dazed despite her poise.

She looked at Yolotli, who watched her curiously. "I didn't think I'd ever marry for love," she says honestly. "I wasn't even sure I would get to choose."

"I didn't think the first time I laid eyes on you that I would marry the most kindhearted Queen to ever live, or that you would even notice me at all." She kissed Daenerys' cheek in a line to her lips. "But here we are, together, forever," she says. She drops her face into Daenerys' neck. She smells like home. "We will crush your enemies together," she whispers there, and feels Daenerys turn into her, feels her tremble, though from which emotion she is not certain. "Your enemies are mine."

Daenerys inhales sharply. "And yours are mine," she replies softly, so only Yolotli will hear. "And all evil men and anyone who threatens my wife will burn." A promise if Yolotli ever heard one.

"Let's slay them, then, my love. Our new world is waiting."


End file.
